Construction, Demolition, Infrastructure March 5, 2023March 17, 2023

A CoW Will Now Connect Your Call

In the next few months, the mobile phone network operator Verizon Wireless will deploy a temporary Cell-tower on Wheels (CoW) to 432 NE 74th Avenue. This device will support the wireless network during the demolition and reconstruction of the site’s equipment room. The existing cell tower will remain on NE Glisan Street and return to operation after demolition crews raze the former TV broadcast facility where the network equipment is currently located.

Last December, Verizon Wireless filed a permit to create a new equipment area within a ten by twenty-foot fenced area on the residentially-zoned southern portion of the property. The enclosure will house equipment cabinets and a generator associated with cell phone antennas on a utility pole in the NE Glisan Street right-of-way. Crews will construct a fully sight-obscuring eight-and-a-half-foot tall wood fence around the equipment shed and standby power generator. The wireless support staff will access the space through a four-foot gate on the north side. Landscapers will provide plantings around the outside perimeter to further blend the structures into the residential streetscape.

*Plan set from 2019 Cell Site upgrade showing equipment room being demolished*

The new weather enclosures installed behind the fence will replace the existing three racks full of batteries, power management devices, and radio equipment stored in the northeast corner of the former TV studio. Crews will deconstruct the building to make way for the site’s two future low-income and supportive housing developments. Verizon Wireless will deploy the portable cell tower to maintain cell phone coverage during construction. It includes a cellular antenna, transceiver device, battery, and other necessary equipment required to provide a stable wireless mobile network. The transition to the temporary equipment should be seamless for users. Expect new equipment to arrive on site later this year ahead of demolition work.

Jacob Loeb

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Infrastructure March 3, 2023March 17, 2023

Biketown Rack Removed after Car Crash

Biketown maintenance staff recently removed the bike-share rack on SE 81st Avenue and E Burnside Street after it received significant damage. Around noon on February 19th, an older Toyota sedan drove over the rack bending all six lock-post. Lyft, the operator of Portland’s bike rental program, will replace the dock next week.

*Biketown Station with car stuck on top*

Biketown bike racks, referred to as stations, are placed on sidewalks or in the parking lane of streets. These designated spaces offer users a dependable location to find the iconic orange bikes. Although riders can lock the bike any place at the end of a trip, Biketown finically incentivizes people to return rented bikes to stations. Since its removal, this station no longer appears on the Biketown System Map. Riders looking to save the $1 fee charged for parking outside a station must travel to the nearest location on NE 78th and Glisan Street. Unlike the damaged unit, the bike-share operators placed that station on the sidewalk.

All bike spaces were empty when the crash occurred, and no injuries were reported. With only plastic delineator posts marking the station’s footprint, this type of collision could happen again. However, this is the first reported incident at this location since its installation 18 months ago. Expect a new station at SE 81st Avenue and E Burnside Street by March 10th.

*Biketown Station Replaced on SE 81st Ave*

*Biketown Station on NE 78th Ave and NE Glisan St*

Jacob Loeb

Community, Infrastructure March 2, 2023March 17, 2023

Portland Expanding EV Charger Access

At the March 1st City Council session, members in attendance unanimously passed the second of two ordinances designed to expand Electric Vehicle (EV) charging. Portland’s leaders made these code updates to incentivize Level 2 charger installation by private companies in spaces accessible to people living in multifamily residences. These early steps seek to remove barriers blocking the widespread adoption of low-carbon-producing vehicles.

City Council passed the EV Ready Code Project on February 8, 2023. These zoning code updates require new multi-dwelling and mixed-use developments with five or more units to provide EV-ready charging infrastructure, as long as the property includes onsite parking. Starting on March 31, builders must provide conduit and electrical capacity to support the future installation of Level 2 EV chargers for 50% of the available onsite parking spaces with a minimum of six spots. Developments with six or fewer spaces would need to provide this infrastructure to all parking spaces.

Although the EV Ready Code Project does not require EV charger installation, it removes much of the costs associated with retrofitting that equipment into parking infrastructure. As tenant demand for charging access increases, that lower installation cost should also shorten the time building owners take before adding the environmentally friendly amenity.

Pilot charger mounted on utility pole on SE Clinton St, image courtesy PBOT.

Charging infrastructure availability is a barrier to some residents looking to buy an electric vehicle, particularly those without onsite parking or living in existing multifamily residences. The second round of code amendments approved yesterday will address offsite parking electrification. EV chargers in the right of way would expand choices for many car buyers who must park on city streets. The recently passed ordinance directs the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to work with private charging companies and utility providers to establish curbside Level 2 EV charging. It updates the City code to allow the installation of this equipment and dedicates public parking space to EVs. The Charger equipment could mount to existing utility poles or freestanding pedestals in the furnishing zone. PBOT will limit the number and type of operators allowed to install charging equipment in the right-of-way. Individuals and businesses are not eligible to install personal charging equipment on public streets. These code amendments only apply to chosen companies with the ability to install and maintain EV charging equipment at a large scale.

Program architects designed EV charger equity into this initiative through targeted placement. Master Lease Agreements with EV charging companies and utility providers would require the distribution of chargers into neighborhoods currently underserved by existing EV infrastructure. EV chargers will be allowed on Local Service Traffic Streets around the corner from Main Streets. Program coordinators envision charger installations within larger districts like Gateway Regional Center, Hollywood, Lents, and St. Johns. Additionally, Neighborhood Centers like Roseway, Woodstock, and Montavilla are prime locations for charger expansion. PBOT staff must report to City Council by June 30, 2024, on the policy’s progress and could request further changes to City Code to advance the program.

According to the ODOT TEINA Report, conservative estimates say that Portland needs to add 9,500 public charging ports by 2035. City leaders and staff feel these two new programs are the best approach to meeting that goal while creating affordable and convenient access to EV Charging in Portland. PBOT says installations of curbside EV chargers could begin later this year, but there will be a public notification process before any work begins. If these programs are successful, thousands of shared EV chargers could become available to Portlanders over the next decade.

Jacob Loeb

Construction, Infrastructure March 1, 2023March 17, 2023

82nd Ave Draft Concept Shared by PBOT

In an effort to embrace design transparency, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) released a Draft Concept for the 82nd Avenue Critical Fixes project. They want public participation in the design process and created a survey to gather comments on the proposed upgrades. These near-term critical safety and maintenance repairs on 82nd Avenue will break ground in 2024, with crews working through 2026. Although repair work will span the entire stretch of 82nd Avenue, these specific projects focus on NE Fremont Street to NE Schuyler Street and SE Mill Street to SE Foster Road.

The enhancements could include medians with street trees, signal reconstruction, and sidewalk reconstruction or infill. The current draft concept maintains some center turn lanes but also create new dedicated left turn lanes. In some cases, pedestrian islands could prevent east-west automotive traffic from crossing 82nd Avenue at NE Klickitat Street, NE Schuyler Street, SE Clinton Street, SE Lafayette Street, and SE Center Street. PBOT intends to repave much of the project area, and the limited sidewalk construction will provide pedestrians with safe travel to one of the many new signalized crosswalks.

*Image from PBOT’s March 2023 Draft Concept Design*

Montavilla will receive only a handful of updates as part of this current round of proposed projects. Both sides of SE Mill Street could receive 200 feet of new sidewalk east of SE 82nd Avenue. PBOT also wants to reconstruct 300 feet of sidewalk on the east side of 82nd Avenue between SE Division Street and the mid-block crosswalk to the north, near the Portland Community College Southeast campus. The draft concept contains raised concrete medians on 82nd Avenue south of SE Harrison Street to SE Division street and beyond. Several breaks in the median allow for designated left turns and driveway access. PBOT will attempt to plant street trees in the raised medians where possible.

The two main project sites will cover a 2.5-mile stretch of 82nd Avenue that Portland now maintains. Last year, the Oregon Department of Transportation transferred seven miles of the State highway to the City. Funds acquired during that jurisdictional transfer are supporting these projects. The draft concept released alongside the survey represents an early proposal, and people reviewing it should expect changes based on comments submitted by the public. PBOT’s project team wants feedback from businesses, property owners, and residents on the draft concept design. The survey is open until April 15, 2023, and available in Chinese: 中文, Russian: Русский, Spanish: Español, and Vietnamese: Tiếng Việt.

Jacob Loeb

Demolition February 28, 2023March 17, 2023

Trio of Dilapidated Houses on SE 92nd

Demolition crews will soon raze three dilapidated and boarded-up houses along SE 92nd Avenue near SE Division Street. The Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Portland purchased 2320 SE 92nd Avenue, 2328 SE 92nd Avenue, and 2340 SE 92nd Avenue between 2007 and 2013. Those properties became vacant four years ago, with one recently suffering fire damage.

Each home sits on an expansive 56 by 368-foot lot, together representing a 1.4-acre property. The area is zoned Residential Multi-Dwelling 1 (RM1). It supports low-scale multi-dwelling developments up to three stories tall and setback from the sidewalk, similar to other residential structures around it. The houses are under a 35-day demolition delay to permit public comment. City staff will approve the permit applications sometime after March 22nd, 2023.

*Aerial view from Portland Maps showing the three large lots*

The Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church owns an adjacent site of similar size to the north, where they operate the Grace Lutheran School and preschool. Church staff fenced off the back portion of the three homes and created a grassy field available to the students. When cleared of homes, the front section of the properties may also become an open field until the faith organization determines a future use. Church leaders were not available to discuss plans for these properties.

Jacob Loeb

Construction, New Residence February 27, 2023October 25, 2024

Three Townhouses Coming to SE 89th and Market

Update (October 25th, 2024): Work is nearly complete on three townhomes at SE 89th Avenue and Market Street. The developer connected two new two-story townhomes to the existing single family residence at 8905 SE Market Street, creating a three unit structure. The north-most home at 1680 SE 89th Avenue has an attached garage. The center townhome at SE 1682 SE 89th Avenue connects to the original 1952-era house by a small protrusion at the back of the building. The architect staggered the building’s frontage, creating a visual distinction between each home.

The new owners of 8905 SE Market Street intend to attach three new townhomes to the existing single-family residence at this corner lot. Sunset Bridge Inc. bought the 1952-era home last October and plans to create additional housing on the property after demolishing the detached garage. Each proposed two-story unit will offer around 1,100 square feet of living space.

The four residences will all share the same lot, with the new homes likely fronted on SE 89th Avenue in an area of the property currently covered in tall hedges. The new structures will not contain garages. However, the curb cut and parking pad used for the old garage may remain. The existing 1,466-square-foot home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The three new townhouses will likely contain two bedrooms.

Building permits in Portland take several months to approve, and those delays could push this project’s start date into the latter half of this year or 2024. Expect constriction to begin sometime after demolition crews deconstruct the single-car garage. When complete, this project will accommodate more homes while preserving the existing housing.

*8905 SE Market Street on Portland Maps*

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Demolition, Infrastructure February 24, 2023April 12, 2023

A Dim Future for Portland Parks

Starting February 22nd, Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) will remove dangerous light poles in twelve City parks, including Montavilla Park. Six of the seventeen light poles at 8219 NE Glisan Street have structural anchoring issues that make them unsafe. These units could pose life and safety hazards to the public. Maintenance teams must remove them immediately, even though the City parks bureau lacks sufficient funds to replace these lights. Affected parks will close at 10:00 p.m. nightly, and Park Rangers will visit locations more frequently at night.

PP&R recently identified 243 poorly anchored light poles after conducting a system-wide review of 1,000 units in City parks. Some lamp posts are over 100 years old. Many of the older cast concrete light poles are not anchored to the ground sufficiently to avoid tipping over if pushed with horizontal force. Last June, one of the older light poles fell on two people in Irving Park after a hammock was illegally attached.

Mt. Tabor Park also contains 81 lights that fall into the unsafe category. Park crews will replace some light poles over the next 16 months, with Irving Park and Mt. Scott Park receiving priority based on an equity analysis. However, bureau staff are exploring opportunities to maximize the use of remaining lights to keep affected parks as bright as possible.

*Montavilla Park’s gravel center road lined with older lamp poles*

PP&R will require additional funding to replace all the unsafe light poles in the park system. bureau leadership has reallocated $5 million from the major maintenance fund to remove the potentially hazardous light poles and begin the partial replacement process, pulling money away from other projects. Portland parks require $600 million of repair and replacement work beyond what the bureau budget covers. PP&R Director Adena Long is working to address this challenge through its Sustainable Future Initiative to align equitable service with available funding.

This lighting reduction is one of multiple budget shortfalls leaving Montavilla Park with fewer amenities. In 2021 demolition crews removed a dilapidated picnic shelter that park officials intended to replace with a new structure. However, lack of funds postponed that project, and the site is now just another grassy field. Expect fewer light poles in the two area parks over the next few months. Until PP&R funding increases, do not anticipate the restoration of the removed lights or shelter at Montavilla Park.

Update: PP&R will now replace all lights and halt removal until new lights are available.

Twelve City parks with light pole removal planned

Colonel Summers Park will have 12 of 16 light poles removed
Irving Park will have 73 of 78 light poles removed
Ladd Circle Park will have 4 of 20 light poles removed
Lair Hill Park will have 5 of 9 light poles removed
Montavilla Park will have 6 of 17 light poles removed
Mt. Scott Park will have 18 of 22 light poles removed
Mt. Tabor Park will have 81 of 216 light poles removed
Rose City Golf Course will have 1 of 1 light poles removed
Sellwood Park will have 17 of 23 light poles removed
Sellwood Riverfront Park will have 14 of 17 light poles removed
Woodstock Park will have 8 of 25 light poles removed
Wallace Park will have 4 of 6 light poles removed

Jacob Loeb

Community, New Residence February 22, 2023March 25, 2023

Portland Considering VOA Property for Outdoor Shelter

Update: The VOA property will not become a shelter site

City of Portland staff are in talks with the Volunteers of America (VOA) Oregon regarding the property at 8815 NE Glisan Street. As reported by the Oregonian/OregonLive on February 18th, multiple sources say this site could become an alternative outdoor shelter for up to 150 people experiencing houselessness. VOA Oregon CEO Kay Toran confirmed on February 20th that the City is seeking short-term use of the vacant NE Glisan Street property through a posted message on the organization’s website.

VOA Oregon purchased the large property on NE Glisan Street from Central Bible Church in May of 2021. In an interview published in the Montavilla News last October, Kay Toran outlined a multi-year plan to transform the 5.8-acre site into a headquarters and treatment center for the organization. Those plans continue to develop and will lead to the eventual demolition of existing structures on the property. Groundbreaking on new buildings is several years away, and at the time of the interview, Toran did not know what temporary uses that site would support.

Although the VOA Oregon message does not specifically reference the City’s proposed short-term use for the Glisan Street land, the statement does reference an “opportunity to assist them with the homeless crisis here in Portland.” The Portland Mayor’s office is currently evaluating several sites that could handle 150 people, possibly increasing to 250 people at a later expansion. In two community engagement sessions held by the Mayor’s Office in late 2022, staff outlined their goal for six professionally managed camping sites with an initial capacity for 100 tents and support for 150 residents. City Council would have the ability to approve an additional 100 people at a site sometime after the first phase completes. These managed outdoor shelters aim to provide better access to physical, mental, and behavioral health services for those living outdoors. Clustering large numbers of people together would allow support staff to better assist people into more permeant housing and access to other resources.

*VOA Oregon CEO message from February 20th, 2023*

The residents would receive two meals and a hefty snack in the proposed plan. People would need to be invited to live at the site and must provide legal names and dates of birth so support staff can help them access services. Each location would have one entrance and exit where people would need to surrender any weapons. All shelter sites would have 24-hour on-site management to assist residents and enforce a 1,000-foot no-camping perimeter around the property. A slide deck from the second meeting outlines additional camp amenities and restrictions for residents.

The final selection of the large outdoor shelter sites is ongoing. The Mayor’s office has yet to engage in conversation with Montavilla’s neighborhood or business associations regarding this site. Although, if the VOA organ site is selected, the City staff have committed to working with those groups and entering into a Good Neighbor Agreement for site operations. As this process moves forward, residents and business owners in the area should expect to receive more details about what will happen to the NE Glisan Street site.

Update: VOA Oregon CEO Kay Toran updated the organization’s posted message on February 22nd, 2023. Toran clarifies that discussions with the City are preliminary, and VOA Oregon has not signed any agreement. She assures people that they will consider all perspectives while evaluating the proposal. “Before formalizing any lease agreement, we need to conduct a thorough review of the proposed operational plans and assess their potential impact on residents, neighbors, and the community at large,” the statement says. Toran also notes that the organization’s long-term plans for the property are unchanged, regardless of any potential short-term use by the City of Portland.

*VOA Oregon CEO message from February 22th, 2023*

Mayor’s Office Community Stakeholder Meeting #1

Mayor’s Office Community Stakeholder Meeting #2

Jacob Loeb

Food and Drink, New Business February 21, 2023March 25, 2023

The Fairuz Room at Ya Hala

Last Valentine’s Day, Ya Hala‘s owners launched their new approach to fine Lebanese dining in the Fairuz Room. This recently remodeled space transformed an unused overflow seating area into a culinary event space adjacent to the family-run restaurant at 8005 SE Stark Street. The new venture from the Attar family hosts fixed menu events, catered gatherings, and curated pop-ups.

In the latter half of the 1990s, Mirna Attar and her husband owned a Lebanese grocery store in the restaurant’s current location. In addition to the packaged products imported for Portland’s growing Middle Eastern community, they offered freshly cooked counter-service meals. “We served a lot of ex-pats back then,” recalled Pascal Attar, Ya Hala’s General Manager. Eventually, demand for Mirna Attar’s prepared food outpaced the capacity of the service counter, and the family moved the grocery next door to the space currently housing the Fairuz Room. They remodeled their original corner shop into the Ya Hala restaurant, offering table service and an expanded menu.

Years later, they needed more space for seating and shifted the grocery store one more storefront east. Pascal Attar’s aunt now runs the store at 8015 SE Stark Street under the name La Bouffe International Gourmet. The family has other grocery stores, including two World Foods locations. The family-owned businesses outside Montavilla have deli counters serving foods cooked in the Ya Hala kitchen, keeping it at the center of the family’s operation. “Ya Hala is the flagship business,” explained Pascal Attar.

However, like most food service businesses, the pandemic changed how they fed customers. “COVID happened. There was a mandatory shutdown, and we shut down for a few months. We got together as a family and said, ‘OK, given everything that’s going on, how are we going to adjust our business model so it’s sustainable.’ Prior to COVID, we had about 100 seats with full service in both rooms,” recalled Pascal Attar. “We decided to go back to the original model of being an order at the counter restaurant. We slimmed our menu down from three pages down to one.” Cutting staff positions and a reduced selection allowed the restraint to survive. After a few years of operating in a simplified setup, they wanted to expand beyond the limited menu again, but not by reverting to the pre-pandemic format. “That wasn’t satisfactory for Chef Myrna, my mom because she’s a creative because she’s a visionary.” Said Pascal Attar.

Mirna Attar knew building unique menus must happen in a different footprint than their established restaurant. “She needed a space to create dishes that tie traditional Lebanese cuisine with offerings from the Northwest,” explained Pascal Attar. With Ya Hala back to its roots as a counter-service eatery with open seating, the family looked to the unused overflow dining area next door as a way to reimagine an expanded offering. That was the start of the Fairuz Room.

The Attar family styled the new reservation-only space to reflect the warmth and comfort of a Lebanese living room with the sounds and images of one of the country’s most notable performer. “Fairuz is a Lebanese icon, a national treasure. She is a singer. She also did a lot of theater, and she’s known very well across the Middle East. So we have her music on in here, and we have posters of her up in the room that were printed in Italy in the 1960s,” said Pascal Attar. The room’s theme lends itself to immersive dining, and the spacious layout allows visitors to feel at ease as if they are visiting a friend’s home for dinner.

Dining events in this space will use hyperlocal sourced ingredients paired with selections from partner wine producers. The Ya Hala website will soon feature links to a reservation system for booking tables at future set-menu dinners. Some menus will focus on foods from particular regions of Lebanon, and others could incorporate all vegetarian-vegan selections.

Those interested in booking the Fairuz Room for a party of eight or more should email catering@yahalarestaurant.com, and those wanting to reserve a table for a Fairuz Room dinner night should keep an eye on the company website and Instagram. The room fits 32 people at a variety of table configurations. When they begin regular service, Pascal Attar anticipates one to two dinners per week.

Jacob Loeb

Construction, Demolition, New Residence February 19, 2023October 15, 2023

Slender House Replacing Garage on Burnside

Portland real estate investor Antoine Dean recently purchased a thin 24-foot-wide lot on the NE side of E Burnside Street. The site contains a detached garage used over the last several decades by residents of 4 NE 72nd Avenue. Later this year, after demolition crews remove the existing structure, the site will host a new two-story single-family residence fronted on E Burnside Street.

Antoine Dean is a Portland real estate agent and investor who often looks for unique development opportunities. When he discovered the 1904-built home on the market, Dean saw potential in the detached building. The single-car garage and attached shed were not part of the original home but joined the adjacent property later. The lots remained separate parcels over the years, and Dean was able to purchase the garage’s land independently from the house.

The site will require creativity in its construction, being one-foot skinner than most infill houses. “It is a relatively small lot compared to everything else,” remarked Dean. Residential buildings in this zone require a five-foot setback from the property line. Consequentially the architect had to take a standard 15-foot-wide split lot plan set and shave an extra foot from the design. This proposed house is 14′ wide by 38′ long. However, it fits many amenities in that 1016-square-foot space. Each of the two bedrooms has an attached bathroom. That leaves just enough room on the second floor for a stacked washer and dryer closet at the top of the stairs. The main floor features an open-plan living room, kitchen, and dining area. Under the staircase is a small main-floor powder room.

This home targets the affordable side of the housing market. Dean explained that a home in a high-traffic location with a modest floor area is ideal for those working with a constrained budget. “Whoever purchases it is going to have to feel comfortable being right there on Burnside,” said Dean. He expects the single-family residence to list anywhere from $375,000 to $415,000, depending on the market conditions at the time of sale. Providing finically accessible housing is important to Dean. He sees it as one of the top challenges in the country, and he hopes his work will help mitigate the national housing shortage.

The demolition permit for the garage is approved, and work should begin soon after workers clear the property. Expect to see crews working the site throughout the summer. Dean hopes to keep to a tight building schedule and have the property listed before the end of the year.

Update October 14th, 2023: Cement masons completed foundation work at 7225 E Burnside Street outlining the new skinny structure. Look for principal framing to progress over the next few months.